Disability Services in a Postsecondary Situation

This information should assist in understanding the transition from secondary education to postsecondary education.

Students are now responsible for self-identifying and requesting accommodations/services as needed. Postsecondary institutions will not ask whether or not a student has a disability (e.g., on registration forms). Students are encouraged to self-identify and discuss their special needs with appropriate staff.

Students are now accommodated as “adults.” This means that the students must have been assessed as an adult, utilizing adult standards. Generally, postsecondary education institutions require assessment to be completed within the past three (3) years. Students requiring accommodations for the SAT or ACT should review established eligibility criteria with the respective organizations.

Assessment required will probably be different and more complex than that required as a child. Students should check with the postsecondary institution that they are planning on attending in order to be assured that their documentation is complete.

Many of the laws (such as ADA, Section 504) covering disability services in high school are the same in postsecondary. A primary difference is the handling of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA, also known as the Buckley Amendment). Within the postsecondary situation, students have the right to know about the purposes, content, and location of information kept as part of their education records. They have the right to gain access to and, in some cases, challenge the content of their records. Students also have a right to expect that information in their educational records will be kept confidential or disclosed only with their permission or under provisions of the law. Parents have the right to expect confidentiality of certain information about them in student records and, under certain conditions, to gain access to information in student educational records.

The above treatment of student records is one of the hardest adjustments for both students in postsecondary education and their parents. Disability services office staff expect students to take on the role of being a self-advocate for his or her rights. Many students have depended on their parents in the past for this role. Parents can still be involved; however, the postsecondary institution will require written permission and release forms to be signed in order to share information with the parent because, due to FERPA and State law, the students are the owners of their records. The exception to that may be for the students who are still claimed as dependents under their parents’ income tax filing.

Students should make contact with the disability services providers at the postsecondary institution as soon as possible. They should do so prior to enrollment in order to assure accommodation. If students are applying to more than one institution, make sure that they contact all offices involved. There may be different documentation requirements.

Accommodations in college may be different than the accommodations received in K-12. If there are questions, students should always approach the disability service provider office for further explanation.

Procedures are set in place for students to appeal if they have been discriminated against at the postsecondary institution. Students should check their college catalog and/ or disability handbook from the postsecondary institution for details.

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